Non-career employees, or temporary workers who do not receive full employee benefits and privileges, make up a significant part of the U.S. Postal Service’s workforce – about 130,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2016. The USPS uses non-career employees throughout its operations.

King Louis XIV of France did more than usher in a golden age of art and literature and preside over a dazzling royal court at Versailles in the 17th century. He also introduced the world to the inspector general concept, appointing agents to review his military and report back what they found.

Out with the old; in with the new. It's a common saying at the start of the New Year. In the postal world, however, some old things go out at the end of the year, only to return again in the New Year, like postal reform.

And, of course, some things never go away completely, which is a good thing. For example, we continue to get mail delivery to our doors at least 6 days a week no matter what is happening with the U.S. Postal Service's financial condition.

Pushing the Envelope wishes our readers a joyful holiday season and a prosperous New Year. We will take a break this week, but we encourage you to read over the past year's blogs and let us know what you think on any of the wide range of topics we covered in 2016.

We post comments as they come in, even if you have something to say about a blog that we posted years ago. Indeed, many of our older blogs have been getting new comments, generating new threads of discussion.

Latest Blog Posts

Small purchases can add up. That’s certainly the case with the government’s purchase card program, which provides charge cards to more than 350 federal agencies, organizations, and Native American tribal governments.

Two times a year, we publish a report of our work and activities for a just-ended six-month period. This Semiannual Report to Congress (or SARC, as we affectionately call it) is required by law, but it’s also a chance for us to share our record of work with our many stakeholders.

Do you mail in your tax returns? Have you ever received a summons for jury duty? If so, it’s likely you’ve sent or received Certified Mail — a special service from the U.S. Postal Service that provides proof of mailing to the sender.

Latest Audit Asks

The Postal Service plays a role in the American democratic process by processing and delivering election and political mail through its network of 227 mail processing facilities. Election mail includes official items such as voter registration requests and absentee or mail-in ballots. Political...

A domestic end product is a product mined or produced in the United States or a product whose component costs are more than 50 percent procured within the United States. When purchasing supplies, the U. S. Postal Service must evaluate proposals offering other than domestic end products.

With its vast network of post offices, the Postal Service has the largest retail network in the country, spanning over 31,000 locations. The experience at retail locations can significantly affect a customer’s view of the Postal Service and likelihood to use it again in the future. USPS...

Comments Wanted

We encourage you to visit our blog, which has a new topic for discussion every Monday. You can also give us your thoughts and opinions about upcoming audits on our Audit Asks page. Please refer to our comment policy for further information.